1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a travelling vehicle system that causes a travelling vehicle to travel on a predetermined travelling route.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a travelling vehicle system for causing a travelling vehicle automatically to travel on a travelling route by computer control, the travelling route being previously provided on a ceiling, a floor, or the like and including a plurality of one-way circulation routes. In such a travelling vehicle system, loading (loading of an article from a station onto a carrier) or unloading (unloading of an article from the carrier to the station) is performed between the station and the travelling vehicle. In this travelling vehicle system, when a request for loading an article is issued from a certain station, a conveyance command to move to the station and receive the article is allocated to an empty carrier located at the nearest position.
After unloading, the travelling vehicle becomes a travelling vehicle in an empty state in which an article is not loaded (hereinafter referred to as an “empty travelling vehicle”). Such an empty travelling vehicle is stopped at a waiting point provided on the travelling route, to prepare for the next conveyance command (e.g., see W02010/73475 A1).
In such a system, it is desired to reliably make the empty travelling vehicle wait at the waiting point as described above. For example, by reliably making the empty travelling vehicle wait at the waiting point, it is possible to suppress wasteful energy consumption. Further, for example, when the waiting point is set near the station in which the loading request is issued, it is also possible to enhance conveyance efficiency of the travelling vehicle system.